Just Breathe

Have you ever thought about your breathing?  Probably not that often, but did you know that in an average day an active adult can take up to 50 000 breaths?  And would you believe a one year old can take up to 86 000 breaths?  We do it automatically but every breath we take is an absolute miracle, a gift from God.  With the popularity of mindfulness, the importance of concentrating on our breathing to help us be in the moment has resurfaced. But religious people, including Jews and Christians have known this a long time. 

In the beginning in the book of Genesis we read God; formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a human being (Genesis 2:7). We believe that humanity was created to breathe, to take in the breath that comes from God to truly live.  And what’s more in John’s gospel we read that on Easter day when Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples, he spoke to them, reassured their fears then breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).  God has made us as human beings with his living breath as the resurrected Jesus lives with and in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  In using our breathe in conjunction with prayer we are centring ourselves on the Triune God.

​Focusing on our breathing in times of anxiety is a great skill to learn. Below is a 3 minute video from Mindful Schools called "Just Breathe". It is not from a specifically Christian worldview but it does have wisdom for faith based schools as we make the connection to the spiritual for our students.